Mindset reform critical to agricultural development: minister

A smart farming model named Delco Farm in Nguyet Duc commune of Thuan Thanh district, Bac Ninh province (Photo: VNA)

The agricultural sector will have to reform its production mindset so as to turn Vietnam into one of the countries with leading agriculture in the world, according to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh recently approved the strategy for sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas for 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, which continues to affirm that agriculture is the sustainable foundation of the country.

Among the detailed targets for 2030, agriculture - forestry - fisheries are expected to achieve GDP growth of 2.5 - 3 percent, an increase of 5.5 - 6 percent in labour productivity, and exports rise of 5 - 6 percent each year on average.

The strategy looks to turn Vietnam into one of the countries with leading agriculture in the world by 2050, by which time its agricultural processing will have become modern, efficient, and environmentally friendly.

To that end, the agricultural sector will have to reform its production mindset, which is shifting from that of agricultural production to that of agricultural economy that focuses on value and efficiency improvement and inter-sectoral development, Minister Hoan said.

He pointed out the need to work towards green and ecological agriculture by uniformly applying technology, rationally using and saving input materials for farming, and efficiently utilising natural resources so as not to affect the environment and human health.

To ensure stable sale for farm produce, the domestic distribution network will have to be reformed in order to connect processing and retail systems with agricultural product supply chains. A system of wholesale markets will need to be developed in tandem with the logistics chain in key farming zones.

Opportunities generated by free trade agreements will be optimised to retain traditional markets and explore new ones to avoid overdependence on certain markets, the minister noted.

He added that the agricultural sector will need to maximise existing resources to bring about new values by developing a circular economy, which will enable green and ecological agriculture./.